A Few Very Short Stories

By Ron Hall

Did GrPa kill a bear with his fist? Find out. See the "Bear Facts."

Green apple two steps, grabbling crawdads, possum hunting, and acifidity bags.

Hog slaughter and pork processing in the backyard. Make a soccer ball from a pig's bladder.

Mountain boy conquers abject fear and slays a giant egg-eating snake.

The Great Economic Depression: The CCC and Maness Recreational Park.

Two second graders wild bus ride and discovery of the big treasure in the ashes of a burned-out house.

Growing up in a country house, home alone with Daddy and a war's remorse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638749912

Ron Hall

Ron Hall has dedicated much of the last ten years of his life to speaking on behalf of, and raising money for, the homeless. Formerly an international art dealer, Ron is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and writer/producer of the Paramount/Pure Flix film Same Kind of Different as Me. A Texas Christian University graduate, Ron was honored in 2017 with the Distinguished Alumni Award. In addition to traveling and speaking, Ron and his wife, Beth, run the Same Kind of Different as Me foundation (SKODAM.org), which meets emergency needs for those who are less fortunate.

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A Few Very Short Stories

Ron Hall

Copyright © 2022 by Ron Hall

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Illustrations by Susan Hopkins

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Bear Facts

Hog-Killing

Sally and the Egg-Eating Snake

The Great Economic Depression

The Switchbox Caper

Dixon House

Medical Services, Ca. 1914

The Big Slide and Wet Britches

Coal Miner’s Dinner Bucket

The Ron Hall Story: A Little Bit of It

The Long, Long Train

Mountain Squirrels and Wise County Copperheads

Country Stores

The Bear Facts

A Story of Early Settlers on Wallen’s Ridge

The Bear Facts

Many years ago, on a late Spring Sunday afternoon, a handsome young gentleman and a beautiful young lady strolled hand in hand in a secluded forest cove. They were alone in their own little world, far away from their home community. There would be no intrusions from human kind. It seemed like a modern-day version of the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve had suddenly appeared. The heavenly angel in charge of earthly romance was surely on the job. This little heaven on earth was near to the Turkey Cove and Low Gap on Wallen’s Ridge.

The mountain laurel bushes were showing off their fluffy blooms that emitted scents worthy of the most expensive Paris perfume. Squirrels were lurking about, chattering about who knows what. A variety birds were flitting about, screaming their melodious tunes, playing their courtship operas. A sweet smelling, cool mountain stream trickled its way down the gentle slopes.

A big flat moss-covered rock, a natural park bench, lay next to the stream, a fitting place for the young couple to sit for a while. They kicked their shoes aside, and cast their puppy love glances to each other and giggled with joy as they dabbled their toes in the cool mountain water. It was quite appropriate for a few hugs and sensuous kisses. They were engaged to be married in just two weeks’ time.

Later, in a more practical and serious mood, they talked and expressed their dreams of a bright, prosperous future together as a family. They decided that if it was to be possible, they would purchase land around this spot in the cove, clear the woods, and build a suitable house. They sat for a while and silently prayed that God would rain down his grace and blessings and allow their dreams to come true. Their names: Lafayette McMullen Collier and Sylvania Wells. He was twenty years old; she was nineteen. They had known each other since childhood. Their parents owned adjoining property.

Lafayette McMullen Collier’s ancestral roots ran deep in Southwest Virginia history. He was the son of Ori and Sarah Witt Collier. His great-grandfather, William Lying Bill Collier of Bedford County, Virginia, was among the Long Hunters who visited this region during the mid-1700s. Sylvania Wells was among the fourth generation of the Wells family who came to the Southwest Virginia region during the mid-1700s as religious missionaries and business people. She was the daughter of Joseph and Mariah Boothe Collier. Her biological father died when she was about ten years old. Her widowed mother married James Graham when Sylvania was about twelve years old.

The name, Lafayette McMullen, was a significant departure from the common Christian names of the Collier family. Quite possibly, Lafayette’s father had great admiration for a prominent statesman and political operative named Lafayette McMullen. Lafayette McMullen was born in Estellville (now Gate City, Virginia) May 1805. He was a stage driver and teamster and all-round roustabout during his early years. Later, he was elected as a Democrat to several office positions including US Congress and Confederate States Congress where he served to the end of the Confederacy. He was killed by a train in Wytheville, Virginia, November 1880.

Lafayette McMullen Collier, alias/nickname: Sampson and Samps. By official records, he was generally known as LM during the early years of his life. He was listed as LM in the records of the Olive Branch Baptist Church as late as 1901 when he would have been thirty-two years old. The only physical records I (Ron Hall) have discovered establishing and supporting the alias/nickname of Sampson is contained in the records of the Robinette Chapel Baptist Church, which was established at Oreton, Virginia, about 1922.

By age seventy-five, Lafayette had become almost a mythological figure. There are plenty of family history stories testifying to his good character, cleverness, stature, and physical strength. Perhaps a bit of truth and a spoon full of embellishment: Grandpap Samps was negotiating with a neighbor about the possible purchase of a quantity of hay. When the neighbor stated a price for the hay, Grandpap replied, That is a big price for a shoulder load of hay.

The neighbor told Grandpap, ‘If you can carry it away on your shoulder, you can have it free of charge."

As the story goes, Grandpap fashioned some ropes and string into a net, wrapped the hay into a tight bundle, and to the neighbor’s surprise and disdain, picked it up, shouldered it up, and walked away. Later, Grandpap returned to visit the neighbor and pay a fair price they both agreed to.

Rumor has it that Samps did some bare-knuckle boxing and was never whooped; it was said by some that he could break the ribs of a half-grown hog with a six-inch punch.

Lafayette and Sylvania were married at the home of James Graham, her stepfather, in the fall of 1869. After a short honeymoon, at a fancy hotel in Big Stone, they returned to reside Sylvania’s parents until they had a place of their own. There were lots of household chores and farmwork around the Graham homestead that kept both Lafayette and Sylvania plenty busy holding up their obligation to earn their keep. Lafayette was a virtual Paul Bunyan with his axe and made great use of it while laying in firewood for the winter. During her spare time, Sylvania busied herself at the quilting rack, sewing the bedcovers that would provide a snuggling place for her and her adoring husband.

During the winter, Lafayette bargained with a relative to purchase a few acres of land in the cove where he and Sylvania had courted. A deal was made and soon, he and Sylvania had a proper deed in hand. They were now the proud owners of the little dreamland for which they had hoped and prayed.

The Lafayette and Sylvania Cove lay to the west of the Graham homestead, about an hour’s worth of walking across Elk Knob and down a sloping hillside. When time allowed, they went into the cove with picnic baskets, axes, mattocks, and hoes, not much courting and lovey-dovey these times. The hard work period of frontier Suing had begun in earnest. For their future home, they selected a level spot near to the bubbling springs that fed the rippling stream where they had dabbled their feet and done the serious courting. As they chopped, dug and hoed like demons obsessed, clearing the land of trees and underbrush, each had a vision of the cabin, a one-room structure made of poplar logs harvested from nearby trees. A puncheon log floor, a big fireplace, and a loft designed as bedrooms for the children yet to come.

True to the customs of those olden days, a house raising was to happen. By now, it was late fall. The crops had long been laid by, and the harvest had been gathered off the nearby farms. The next big job for the folks all-around would be hog killing, ah, but now it was house raising time. So on a cool but sunny day, relatives and friends gathered from near and far to help build a cabin for Lafayette and Sylvania. A lot of hard work was in order, but this was also an occasion for visiting and partying for folks who seldom saw each other except maybe at a Saturday church meeting. Oh yes! Church services were usually held on Saturday in those days.

When all the folks had arrived; said their howdy do; and done a lot of hugging, kissing, and admiring the new babies, they drew together in a close group at the building site. A Primitive Baptist preacher read some scripture from the King James Version of the Holy Bible and led the prayers, asking God’s blessings for the activities about to follow.

The womenfolk took baskets of food from the wagons and began to make ready for the noon meal. Much was to be done in preparing for the ample feast. A large quantity of food would be prepared since the men of those days were robust and hearty eaters. They would be especially hungry on this day. They would work hard and fast in order to build